The 5 types of abusers and their characteristics

As a civilization, we have achieved great technological progress that has made our lives easier, but on an ethical, moral, relational and, tendentially, human level, it seems that we have not advanced that much. People and animals are exposed to abuse by other people.

We talk about a affective, behavioral, and cognitive pattern by which another human being (or animal) is harmed and some control over it is obtained or maintained. In this way, any physical, sexual, emotional, economic or psychological act that harms another person is considered abuse.

Just as there are different types of abuse, there are also different types of abusers. Let’s see what they are.

Types of abusers

According to Amor, Echeburúa and Loinaz (2009), there are two classifications that have guided the study and debate about the types of abusers.

Abusers usually have aggressive and manipulative traits, as well as a low tolerance for frustration.

Gottman classification et al. (nineteen ninety five)

According to this classification There are two types of abusers, the cobra and the pitbull. This typology has been defined taking as reference the abuser’s cardiac response to a couple’s argument.

Type 1 abusers (“cobra”)

In this type of abusers, the heart rate decreases when a couple argues, being able to be really aggressive. They are characterized by being antisocial, aggressive and sadistic..

The abuse they cause to the other person is planned (instrumental) and does not generate any type of guilt or remorse

Type 2 abusers (“pit bull”)

Unlike type 1 abusers, type 2 abusers have an increase in heart rate during arguments. They are characterized by being passive-aggressive, having chronic anger problems, and an insecure attachment style.. His psychopathological profile shows a pattern of avoidant and borderline personality.

The abuse they carry out is not planned, but impulsive, which reflects a serious problem with impulse control and the expression of emotions.

Holtzworth-Munroe and Stuart (1994) classification

The types of abusers in this classification are the following:

Overcontrolled abusers

They are violent in the family environment, with their children and their partner. The frequency of abuse and its severity is small compared to other abusers, and they are less likely to abuse or sexually assault their partner.

Some characteristics of them are the following:

They present passive, dependent and obsessive personality traits. They usually regret the abuse committed and disapprove of violence. They are low-risk abusers. They have difficulties in the use of social skills.Their relationships are relatively stable.

Impulsive abusers or borderline

They are physically, psychologically and sexually violent. The intensity of the abuse ranges from medium to high and is not limited only to the family environment, as in the case of the overcontrolled abuser, but can extend to any environment.

Abuse is the product of accumulated internal tension. These are its characteristics:

Impulsiveness. Emotional instability and irascibility. Chronic anger. Abusive personality. Fearful attachment. Poor social and communication skills. Low remorse for mistreatment. Have a history of childhood rejection and abuse.

Antisocial abusers

They make instrumental (intentional) use of physical and psychological abuse, which is expressed in a generalized way in all the contexts of their lives. They use abuse as a strategy to get what they want and overcome their frustrations.

Unlike impulsive abusers, who act in response to accumulated tension, The antisocial uses abuse in a calculated, cold and planned way. Some characteristics of this type of abusers are the following:

Narcissism and manipulation. They have suffered severe abuse in childhood. They have a high probability of consuming alcohol and drugs in an abusive manner. They are high-risk aggressors. Poor social skills.

General characteristics of abusers

The particular characteristics of each abuser may vary from one to another; However, we can define some characteristics that more or less complete the profile of all of them. Below, we present them to you:

1. Insecurity

They are people who feel very insecure about themselves and the world.. This lack of security makes them distrustful, jealous and controlling people. Although they may appear to be very confident people, they only do so to compensate for their feelings of insecurity.

2. Poor social and communication skills

Abusers have difficulties relating to others in an assertive and satisfactory manner. Likewise, they have problems communicating and expressing their thoughts and emotions assertively. These deficiencies make it impossible to resolve conflicts in a non-aggressive way.

3. Lack of empathy

They are people who have problems recognizing and understanding the mental and emotional states of others. Therefore, it is difficult for them to represent in their mind how the other person may be feeling due to the mistreatment they receive.

4. Aggression

Abusive people are aggressive and They try to impose themselves on the other person, using fear, shame, guilt. The act of harming or injuring is evident in each act of aggression committed against the other person. Aggressiveness is, without a doubt, one of the main characteristics of every abuser.

Aggressiveness helps them maintain control and exercise power.

5. Dependency

Abusers tend to be dependent, because They need that other person on whom they can reaffirm themselves and dispel their feelings of loneliness and abandonment.. They need others to show how strong and confident they are.

6. Low tolerance for frustration

These types of people are unable to self-regulate and endure those situations that frustrate them, which makes it difficult to manage negative or unpleasant feelings such as stress. This inability to self-manage is expressed in irritable behaviors.

To conclude, although each type of abuser is different, the characteristics that we have described allow us to have a global vision of the way they behave and relate to others.

This particular pattern of interacting is a psychosocial problem that we must question deeply, since it is not material and minor things that are damaged by it, it is human lives.

You might be interested…